Removable electroluminescent lamp system



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INVENTORS LERV J. DUCHA/WWE ANDRE F. V/RET 5y l l I :i rfaev Aug. 2, 1966 Filed Dec), 4. 1963 ug- 2, 1966 L. J. DUCHARME ETAL 3,264,640

REMOVABLE ELEGTROLUMINESCENT LAMP SYSTEM Filed Dec. 4, 1963 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 C0 n N\ E INVENTOR LE ROV J. DUCHA/QME ANDRE F? VIRE 7' WC3-MM,

HTORA/Ey Aug- 2, 1966 L. J. DUCHARME ETAI. 3,264,640

REMOVABLE ELECTROLUMINESCENT LAMP SYSTEM Fi1ed-DeC. 4, 196?? :3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. 5

INVENTOR. LEROY J. DUCHARME ANDRE 1D. V/RET WQ. M

ATTO/@VEP United States Patent O 3,264,640 REMOVABLE ELECTRLUMINESCENT LAMP SYSTEM Leroy I.. Ducharme, Caldwell, and Andre I. Vil-et, Ridgewood, NJ., assignors to The Bendix Corporation,

Teterboro, NJ., a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 4, 1963, Ser. No. 328,085 Claims. (Cl. 340-378) This invention relates generally to air and space vehicle display panels, and particularly to means and method for expeditiously replacing illuminating fixtures with or without their indicator electronics package, in which solid state electroluminescent lamp segments or films are provided, and an arrangement in which the hermetic seal of the indicator packages and the lamp film are not affected.

Heretofore, it has been the practice to utilize :conventional lighting means, electronic packages and display instruments with moving parts `such as those embodying vertically mounted tapes which necessitated the use of motors and high precision gear trains with antibacklash gears. The difficulties encountered in replacing this type of equipment made them impractical for todays air and space vehicle display panels inasmuch as the changing of a screw in a space vehicle having zero-G environment became a difficult operation. In present day high speed aircraft, and especially in the manned space vehicles, it becomes a tedious operation toremove and replace equipment such 4as illuminating lamps, dials, scales, and electronic packages without affecting the hermetic seal of the indicator. Part of the problem of replacing instruments with their lighting means may be solved by using solid state hermetically sealed electroluminescent lamp units and hermetically sealed electronic packaged units. The high speed aircraft and the manned space vehicles having zero-G environment presented the need for an additional improved technique in removing and replacing the .aforementioned equipment on their display panels. The equipment must be designed with a minimum number of parts that are so constructed that they shall be easily and completely disassembled, assembled, and replaced on display panels ina minimum of time and effort.

A solid state indicator that utilizes an electroluminescent segmented lamp such as that described in a co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 254,373, filed January 28, 1963, by Frederick Blancke Sylvander, 4and assigned to The Bendix Corporation, assignee of the present invention, and which lamp acts as the active display illuminating means, has usually a useful half life of 1000 hours. That is, within a periodof 1000 hours, the brightness of the lamp is reduced to one-half of its initial brightness (at an environmental temperature of 30 C.). Since the normal indicator or display specification requires a total operating life of 5000 hours, it will necessitate the changing of the electroluminescent lamp unit several times during the lifetime of the indicator. In addition, display indicators such as those used for military air yand space vehicles require hermetically sealed indicator electronic packages and electroluminescent lamps. Therefore, it is the purpose of this invention to provide means that will allow a quick and effortless replacement of the electroluminescent lamp unit with or without their indicator electronic packages, without affecting their hermetic seal.

It is an object of this invention to provide means for expeditiously replacing electroluminescent lamp units on a manned space vehicle display panel having zero-G environment.

Another object of the present invention is to provide means of replacing electroluminescent lamps and indicator electronic pack-ages without effecting their hermetic seal.

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Another object of the present invention is to provide effortless maintenance of electroluminescent lamps and indicator electronic packages with their vertically and horizontally extending display indicators.

A further object of this invention is to provide reliability in a display indicator by providing readily changeable electroluminescent lamps and dials with or Without the electronic packages, depending on the electronic package used.

A further object of this invention is to provide a single electroluminescent lamp unit design to be replaceable in all of the vertical land horizontal rectangular display indicators.

Still a further object of this invention is to provide an improvement in the reading of display indicators.

An additional object of this invention is to provide a quick disconnect plug-in type of connection between electroluminescent panels, dials, electronic packages and the display panels.

These and other objects and features of the invention are pointed out in the following Idescription in terms of the embodiments thereof which are shown in the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not a definition of the limits of the inventi-on, reference being had to the appended claims for this purpose.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 shows a pictorial view of fragmentary portions of a display panel utilized in a present day aircraft and space vehicle.

FIGURE 2 is an exploded perspective view of an electroluminescent lamp system with an indicator electronic package in accordance with an embodiment of this invention.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is an exploded perspective View of an electroluminescent lamp system with an indicator electronic package in accordance with another embodiment of this invention.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5 5 of FIGURE 4 but in a partially assembled position.

Referring to FIGURE 1 of the drawing, a display panel D is shown mounting, among other types of display indicators, a plurality of horizontal scale indicators 10 of a rectangular configuration and a plurality of vertical scale indicators 12 of a rectangular configuration. Over of these horizontal and vertical scale indicators may be used in present day high speed aircraft and space vehicles having the same sized rectangular configuration. The type of instrument recommended for high `speed aircraft and for manned space vehicles, such as manned orbital space stations, will feature solid state design Iand segmented electroluminescent display lamps such as those described -in the co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 254,373, used to illuminate the horizontal display scales 10 and the vertical display scales 12.

Contemplating the possibility that a manned orbital space station will remain in space upwards of five years, and in view of the ability of the normal indicator instrurnents to last much longer than its illuminating means, it will be necessary to employ a type of indicator electroluminescent lamp which has high reliability, consumes low power, and has been designed for easy maintenance. T0 facilitate the maintainability aspect of the manned orbital space station, it will necessitate a hermetically sealed indicator electronics package `and a hermetically sealed electroluminescent lamp unit utilizing a plug-in concept, more specifically shown in FIGURES 2 and 4.

FIGURES 2 and 3 show a display electroluminescent lamp unit 14 with an indicator electronic package 16 that can :be assembled with a bezel. 18 onto a display panel such as primarily used for high speed aircraft. FIG- URES 4 and 5 show a display electroluminescent lamp unit 20.for .inserting therein a dial 22 to be assembled with an indicator electronics package 24 :into a display panel receptacle 25 by a system of positioning keys, here-v inafter more fully described, for use in manned'orbital space vehicles. Each electronics package is provided with The instrumentation would i con.`

will comprise energizing electroluminescent segmentsin a i vertical or horizontal column and transillurninating` the background and nomenclature displays andswitches, during periods of low ambient conditions. Area source electroluminescent lamps will be utilized for backlighting of the indicia. It should also be noted that the ele-Ctroluniinescent lamp produces an area source of uniform light anduotfers `new reliability of long life and freedomfrorn failure.

Electroluminescent lamps are luminous capacitors. The

light-emitting phosphor is embedded` in a plastic-dielectric film that is positioned between a transparent electrode, such as tin oxide, and atmetallic electrode. When an alternating electric field is applied to the electrodes, the phosph-or emits light. Therefore, lighting an indicator with an electroluminescent lamp for nighttime operation has the following advantages. First, it provides fora uniform area source requiring a small amount of power to operate.

Second, it is a cold light source and, therefore, does not contribute to the heat rise inside the indicator. Third, `the electroluminescent lamp has the characteristic of'a slow deteriorating rate and is free from catastrophic failures.

Finally, .the electroluminescent lamp does not change` color when dimmed such as the incandescent white light which shifts col-or when voltage is reduced.

Y Referring-again to FIGURES 2 and 3, theelectroluminescent lamp unit 14 comprises a casing 26 support-` ing an electroluminescent film 27 and a scale 28. painted on a transparent means such as a glass plate 29: The

scale 28 may be painted directly on the face of the lamp 27with a series of electroluminescent segments 30 located on each` side. Lamps have been fabricated with forty-four electroluminescent segments per inch on `a glasssubstrate thatyappear `to be a continuous column from a normal viewing distance.

lines per inch column is shown in FIGURE 2 with adjoining area source lamps contained on the same glass substrate for lighting the scale 28,^a legend 31 and an annunciator display 32. The series of electroluminescent The display, utilizing the forty-four segments 30 may be sequentially lighted to effect the int dicator function as brought out in the co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 254,373.

In addition, the lamp unit 14 is provided with electrical contacts or connecting pins 34 in the number of 44 pins to the inchwhich mate with as many apertures or jacks 36 of the indicator electronics package 16 forobtainiug` electrical connection between the lamp unit 14 and the indicator electronics package 16. Aglass 40 lis supported by the bezel 18 to seal out dirt and dust. The bezel-glass combinationunit encircles and contains the electroluminescent lamp unit 14 and withits abutting edge 42 contacts a step 44 `provided on the electronics package 16."

The wholel unit is then 'held in place by four screws (not shown) inserted through apertures 46 formed inthe bezel 18V to connect thev assembled unit on the display panel. Therefore, the normally hermetically sealed electroluminescent lamp unit 14 and the hermetically` sealed electronics package 16 may be connected to the display panel 4i" Dshown in FIGURE l for electrical contact, by a plug 48, into an aircraft electronics system. The;pins.3:4` and theV four screws, hereinbeforereferred to, provide for a quick .replacement of theftele'ctroluminescent lamp unit i andthe electronics kpackage when needed. This -simple attaching means provides for arquick andeasy replacement of importantxturesz on the .display panel D 'of aV fast fflying aircraft' while` reducing the `human terror.

Referring to FIGURES. 4 and 5,y it will be seen that a simpler means of assemblage `for aerospace vehicles, such.

as orbital spacestations, can be provided utilizing keyed and sliding', connections between ,theV units.. The dial 22 may be made of transparent material such as glassr which may includef color coding 21 anda suitableindicator scale 23` soas to provide the .desired indicator function. .t The= electroluminescent llamp unit 20 comprises ,a casing or framerSO having a rearward portion 52 substantially rectangular in overall shape,y provided .With a pair of paralled guidemembers 54projectin'gforwardlylfrom the ,rearward portion'52 of the frame 50.Il AY pair of inwardly directed lips 56 operate` to form a pair of` parallel grooves 5S in whichis secured ian electroluminescent'y larnp unit 60. The lamp unit 60incltudes aseries of electrolumif nescent segmentsl which maybefV arranged, for example, y withforty four segments-to an inch.l These segments being positioned within an area source electroluminescent means `63 and lighted sequentially as hereinbefore mo-re ully disclosed.

At the bottom portion of the yframe 50, there is prof `vided in combination Ywith the aforesaidtguide members 54 and lips 56,"a bottom zwall 6K2. The rearward portion 52, the guides S4,\the inwardly directed lips `56' andthe bottom wall `612 constitute a receptacle that wil-lallow thev lamppanel 60 secured` therein and the dial 22; to be slidably inserted therein and yto be removed `with Eease.

In addition, the lamp unit 20 isprovided withfa pai-r of positioning keys 64 which areoperabl-e to be inserted within aperturesor key seatsv 66forl the mechanical connection between the l-ampqunit 201and the indicatorelec .tronicspackage 24. Thewlamp unit 20 is also providedv with electrical contacts or connecting pins 67 whichare insertalble in apertures or jacks 68; of the electronics pack-y age 24 for the electrical contact between the lamp unit and electronics package.-` The electronics packageis alsopro vided with positioning keys. 7 0 which are insert-able in apertures or-key seats 72 for mechanical support` of ithe assembled unit within the display pane-l receptacle'ZS. The electronics package 24 is also provided with a plurality of electrical contacts or connecting pins 76 olf ya connectory 78l which .pins may .beinserted Within apertures or jacks 80 of` a receptacle connector 82.. The connector 82 also has aplurality of pins 841 lwhich connect-the wholevassembly within. the electronic system of the space vehicle. The

useof quickadisconnect lrrnllti-contact electric and mechanical connections between theunits provideforan` improved plug-in means for expeditiously ,replacing these units on their display panels .Whenever theneed arises.

In summary, it should be noted .that the lamp films 27 and 60 are secured to the casings 26 :Land 50`respectively and electrically connected to theinpins 34 andx67. The units are then sealed against moisture, as the vphosphor of which the electroluminescentlamp is made has a very.

rapid decay rate when expose-d -to high humidity.

As pointed out before, the lamps have Ybeen fabricated withforty-four: segments to aniinohusing 44 pins to the Y inch. This is necessary in order that the display lamp n appears to have a continuous illuminating oolu-mn from- -a normal viewing distance, which -greatly improves the readabilityof the unit. The: concept of changeability extends to the use of one type ofrectangular lampunit for all'horizontal-and Vverticallrdisplay indicators. This changeability concept may extend to any scale and lamp conguration -as -long as theele'ctronics packageis ladjusted Ito pro-vide for illuminating a linear or circular series of electrical luminescent segments, incooperation with the scales, relative to the input signals represented by the air or space vehicle instrumentation. Therefore, even though this lamp unit has a 'life of approximately 1000 hours, by providing the plug-'in technique the lamp may be compatible with the comparatively longer life of the disp-lay panel and with the longer life of the display instrumentis. If the space vehicle is to remain in space for approximately the-five year period, a plural-ity of these lamp units may be kept in the vehicle or may be supplied to the vehicle for interchange with the used up lamp units of the display panels.

The display panel can utilize, in addition to the one type of segmented rectangular electroluminesicent lamp units 14 and 20 -for all the horizontal and vertical displays, one type of electroluminescent lamp unit for toggle switch identification, one type of electr-oiumines'cent legend lamp unit for rotary switch identification and one type of electroluminescent lamp unit for Warning and caution panel identification.

While several embodiment-.s of the invention have been described, various changes in t-he form and relative arrangements oi the pants, which will now appear to those skilled in the art may be made Without departing from the scope of the invention. Reference is, therefore, to be had to the appended claims for a definition of the limits of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a space vehicle having a panel and a plurality of display indicators, each of said indicators comprising an electronic package having connector jacks and electroluminescent lamp units having a series of electroluminescent segments with extending connecting pins to connect with said connector jacks, a dial outward and over said segments, means mounting said dial on said lamp unit, a receptacle housing for said electronic package, electrical connector means on said electronic package extending inward toward said housing and electrical mating connector means of said housing to provide a quick disconnect of said electronic package from said housing.

2. The structure defined by claim 1 further comprising a bezel for encircling said electroluminescent lamp unit to prevent contamination of said electroluminescent lamp unit and to provide ease of assembling said electroluminescent lamp unit onto said electronic package.

3. The structure of claim 1 further characterized in that said electronic package defines a pair of key seats and said electroluminescent lamp unit further comprises a pair of positioning keys operable for insertion Within the pair of key seats of said electronic package for alignment of the electroluminescent segment connecting pins of said electroluminescent lamp unit with the connector jacks of said electronic package.

4. The structure of claim 1 characterized in that said receptacle housing denes a pair of key seats and said electronic package further comprises a pair of positioning keys operable for insertion Within the pair of key seats of said receptacle housing for alignment of said electronic package with said receptacle housing.

5. The structure of claim 1 characterized in that said electronic package defines a pair of key seats and said electroluminescent lamp unit further comprises a pair of positioning keys operable for insertion Within the pair of key seats of :said electronic package for alignment of the electroluminescent segment connecting pins of said electroluminescent lamp unit with the connector jacks of said electronic package, and further characterized in that said receptacle. housing defines a pair of key seats and said electronic package further comprises a pair of positioning keys operable for insertion within the pair of key seats of said receptacle housing for alignment of said electronic package with said receptacle housing, and wherein said electronic package is of a substantial rectangular configuration having extended parallel sides and ends and wherein said receptacle housing has the same configuration with extended parallel sides and ends as said electronic package for receiving said electronic package and being guided Within said receptacle housing to provide thereby an additional means of alignment of said electronic package Within said receptacle housing.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,526,495 10/1950 Meyer 340-332 2,866,964 12/1958 Neidenberg et al. 340-366 X 2,890,445 6/1959 Korry 340-378 2,916,725 12/ 1959 Noyes 340-378 2,925,532 2/1960 Larach 315-169 2,938,200 5/1960 Dupree 340-366 X 3,107,350 10/1963 Arrasmith 340-381 3,116,959 1/1964 Abodeely 339-66 3,133,221 5/1964 Knochel et al 315-169 3,153,739 9/1964 De Grafenfried 340-378 NEIL C. READ, Prima/y Examine/' W. C. GLEICHMAN, T. A. ROBINSON, I. J. LEVIN,

Assistant Examiners. 

1. IN A SPACE VEHICLE HAVING A PANEL AND A PLURALITY OF DISPLAY INDICATORS, EACH OF SAID INDICATORS COMPRISING AN ELECTRONIC PACKAGE HAVING CONNECTOR JACKS AND ELECTROLUMINESCENT LAMP UNITS HAVING A SERIES OF ELECTROLUMINESCENT SEGMENTS WITH EXTENDING CONNECTING PINS TO CONNECT WITH SAID CONNECTOR JACKS, A DIAL OUTWARD AND OVER SAID SEGMENTS, MEANS MOUNTING SAID DIAL ON SAID LAMP UNIT, A RECEPTACLE HOUSING FOR SAID ELECTRONIC PACKAGE ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR MEANS ON SAID ELECTRONIC PACKAGE EXTENDING INWARD TOWARD SAID HOUSING AND ELECTRICAL MATING CONNECTOR MEANS OF SAID HOUSING TO PROVIDE A QUICK DISCONNECT OF SAID ELECTRONIC PACKAGE FROM SAID HOUSING. 